3 neighborhoods in Davao City under lockdown

DAVAO CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Davao City government has ordered the lockdown of 3 neighborhoods in a coastal village following a confirmed coronavirus disease (COVID-19) case there on Tuesday, April 21.

Purok 3, 4, and 7 in Barangay 23-C will be on lockdown “to pre-empt a possible massive spread of the infection in the area due to a confirmed positive case,” Mayor Sara Duterte said in a statement.

As of 10pm on Tuesday, the city government also placed under lockdown Barangay 21-C, particularly Purok 8. Barangay 21-C is also a densely populated area with nearly 7,500 people. 

Officials have yet to explain the lockdown on Barangay 21-C.

Under a lockdown, no one is allowed to go out of their homes and no one is allowed to go inside the 3 purok (neighborhood/zones).

Around 56 individuals have been evacuated and brought to a facility for suspected COVID-19 cases.

“Everyone is hereby advised to avoid Barangay 23-C,” the statement added.

Barangay 23-C has an estimated 16,489 residents, according to the 2015 census. Most of them are aged between 20 to 24.

The new confirmed case brought to 87 the number of COVID-19 cases in Davao City. Sixteen patients had died while 48 others have recovered from the disease. 

Most of the cases in Davao City were traced to a cockfight held at the Matina Gallera on March 6 to 13.

Davao City is already under an enhanced community quarantine.

As an additional measure, Duterte implemented on Monday, April 20, a clustering of the city’s districts wherein residents could only go around their respective clusters.  

Duterte also announced that the city government has revised the rules for its Food and Medicine (FM) pass.

Instead of the first digit of the control numbers of the FM passes, Duterte said that the last digit will now be used as the basis in allowing people outside their homes.

The change in the coding system was brought about by the need to prevent people from the same barangay from going outside all at the same time. 

FM passes with the last digits 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 can only be used on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

FM passes with the last digits 2, 4, 6, 8, and 0 can only be used on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.

The FM pass shall be presented at checkpoints. Checkpoint frontliners are prohibited from touching the passes.

As of Tuesday, the Philippines has recorded 6,599 COVID-19 cases, with 437 deaths, while 654 others have recovered. – Rappler.com